Date: | 10/11/2017 |
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Organization: | State Ethics Commission |
Docket Number: | 421 |
- This page, In the Matter of Michele Esposito, is offered by
- State Ethics Commission
Settlement In the Matter of Michele Esposito
Table of Contents
Disposition Agreement
This Disposition Agreement (Agreement) is entered into between the State Ethics Commission (Commission) and Michele Esposito (Ms. Esposito) pursuant to section 5 of the Commission’s Enforcement Procedures. This agreement constitutes a consented to final Commission order enforceable in the Superior Court pursuant to G.L. c. 268B, §4(j).
On January 16, 1991, the Commission initiated, pursuant to G.L. c. 268B, §4(a), a preliminary inquiry into possible violations of the conflict of interest law, G.L. c. 268A, by Ms. Esposito. The Commission has concluded that inquiry and, on April 18, 1991, found reasonable cause to believe that Ms. Esposito violated G.L. c. 268A, §6.
The Commission and Ms. Esposito now agree to the following findings of fact and conclusions of law:
1. At all relevant times, Ms. Esposito was a Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR), Child Support Enforcement Unit (CSEU) employee.
2. On September 20, 1989, the DOR entered into a 4.8 million dollar contract (Contract) with Maximus Inc. (Maximus), a Virginia-based technical consulting company with a local office in Waltham.
3. The Contract required Maximus to review and replicate the relevant portions of 70,000 probate and district court files so as to create an information base for enforcement purposes for the CSEU.
4. On or about September 20, 1989, Ms. Esposito was assigned to be the co-contract administrator of the Contract.[1] Thus, her responsibilities included day-today supervision of contract performance as well as ensuring that Maximus satisfied all the required steps specified by the Contract (each step being referred to as a “deliverable”).
5. In October, 1989, Ms. Esposito decided to leave the DOR. She began looking for employment elsewhere.
6. At that time, Ms. Esposito informed her immediate supervisor, Paul Osganian (Osganian) that she would be seeking employment elsewhere.
7. On October 12, 1989, Ms. Esposito discussed her intention to leave the DOR with Maximus’ president, Raymond Ruddy. At that time, Ruddy tried to persuade her to stay at the DOR.
8. On November 3, 1989, Ms. Esposito and her court counterpart reviewed Maximus’ project plan submitted pursuant to the Contract. They suggested a number of modifications to the plan.
9. On November 27, 1989, Ms. Esposito approved Maximus’ first “deliverable,” which was the completion of a satisfactory project plan. By approving the deliverable, Ms. Esposito was recommending that her superiors approve the payment to Maximus of that portion of the Contract attributable to the first deliverable, namely $287,816.40.
10. On December 1, 1989, at Mr. Ruddy’s request, Ms. Esposito met with Ruddy. They had substantial discussions regarding her possibly being employed by Maximus. They discussed generally the type of work she would do if she were hired by Maximus. In effect, Maximus, through Ruddy, was attempting to recruit Ms. Esposito to work for Maximus. At that meeting, Ruddy put two conditions on any job offer: (1) DOR approval, and (2) Ethics Commission approval.
11. According to Ms. Esposito, shortly after this meeting she contacted the Commission and obtained its approval. The Commission, however, has no record of any such contact.[2] In addition, Ms. Esposito asserts that on the next working day after her December 1, 1989 meeting with Ruddy, and before she further participated in the Maximus contract, she informed Osganian of the nature of her meeting with Ruddy. Osganian, however, has no recollection of being so informed and asserts that the first time he recalls becoming aware of Maximus’ interest in hiring Ms. Esposito was when he was called by Ruddy on December 15, 1989.
12. On December 12, 1989, Ms. Esposito approved the third deliverable pursuant to the Contract. This approval resulted in her superiors authorizing an additional $287,816.40 to be paid to Maximus.[3]
13. On December 14, 1989, Ms. Esposito wrote a memo to the DOR accounting department justifying paying the third deliverable before the second deliverable was completed.
14. On December 15, 1989, Ms. Esposito called Ruddy to say that she had talked to the Ethics Commission and Osganian, and that the conditions regarding his employment offer to her had been met.
15. On December 15, 1989, Ruddy called Osganian to confirm that DOR would have no objection to Ms. Esposito going to work for Maximus. Osganian informed Ruddy that the DOR would have no such problem.
16. Sometime shortly after his December 15, 1989 phone call with Ruddy, Osganian informed his superior, Deputy DOR Commissioner Anne F. Donovan, of the Maximus offer to Ms. Esposito. Donovan raised a concern that the offer put Ms. Esposito in a conflict of interest. Thereafter, DOR’s internal affairs unit investigated this matter.
17. On or about December 28, 1989, Ms. Esposito received a draft of a written offer of employment to work for Maximus. Eventually, Ms. Esposito did go to work for Maximus in March of 1990.
18. On January 3, 1990, Ms. Esposito was removed as contract administrator.
19. Except as otherwise permitted in that section,[4] section 6 of G.L. c. 268A prohibits a state employee from participating in a particular matter in which, to her knowledge, an organization with which she is negotiating an arrangement for prospective employment bas a financial interest.
20. The Contract was a “particular matter” as defined in G.L. c. 268A, §1(k).
21. When Ms. Esposito met with Maximus’ Ruddy on December 1, 1989, she was negotiating for employment with Maximus within the meaning of c. 268A, §6.[5] By the end of the meeting on December 1, 1989, both Maximus and Ms. Esposito had evinced an interest in each other as employer/employee. Indeed, Ruddy had stated be planned to make an offer subject to Ms. Esposito satisfying two conditions. Ms. Esposito indicated she would attempt to satisfy those conditions.
22. Notwithstanding the fact that she had begun negotiating with Maximus on December 1, 1989, Ms. Esposito participated in the Contract when she approved the third deliverable on December 12, 1989, and when on December 14, 1989, she wrote a memo justifying paying the third deliverable before the second deliverable was completed. In addition, she also participated by performing her day-to-day supervisory responsibilities regarding the Contract.
23. Maximus had an obvious financial interest in Ms. Esposito approving the third deliverable, as well as in her performing her day-to-day supervisory responsibilities.
24. Therefore, Ms. Esposito violated G.L. c. 268A, §6 when she participated in the Contract after beginning negotiating for employment with Maximus.
25. The Commission has found no evidence to suggest that in her capacity as a DOR employee, Ms. Esposito acted to provide any special or favorable treatment to Maximus while she was negotiating for employment with Maximus.[6]
26. By way of defense, Ms. Esposito claims that she notified her supervisor of her negotiations almost immediately after they began. As discussed above, Osganian does not recall being so informed. Even if Osganian had corroborated Ms. Esposito’s disclosure claim, such a disclosure would not be a defense. (See fn. 4 above which explains the §6 disclosure/exemption procedure.) Osganian was not her appointing authority and the disclosure and authorization were not in writing.[7]
In view of the foregoing violation of G.L. c. 268A, §6, the Commission has determined that the public interest would be served by the disposition of this matter without further enforcement proceedings on the basis of the following terms and conditions agreed to by Ms. Esposito:
1. that she pay to the Commission the sum of $500.00 as a civil penalty for violating G.L. c. 268A, §6[8]; and
2. that she waive all rights to contest the findings of fact, conclusions of law and terms and conditions contained in this Agreement in this or any related administrative or judicial proceeding to which the Commission is or may be a party.